Friday, October 21, 2011

WannaBe Leaders, WannaBe Readers...

(Here's another commentary I put out earlier this year to encourage reading)

How many of us take time to read? I mean really read. Not short fb comments or chain emails or blogs that don’t necessarily take up too much of your time...not even short messages from Yours Truly. I mean Books! Books of history, of philosophy, of leadership and leaders, or novels and other great works of literature. How many of us spend time digesting words by great men and women and allow our mindsets to be shaped and moulded in great and positive ways???

Most of us will admit that it has been a while since we last dug into a good book. You may realise PNG is not short of leaders, wannabe leaders, and potential leaders. But currently we are stuck in an illusion that leading is something you pick up along the way perhaps at a seminar, or a natural by-product of education. Yes they can be stepping stones that may help in becoming leaders. But there’s a bit more we have to do to be really effective and outstanding agents of change in our country. I can think of two important things that PNGeans hate doing but need to do: READING and THINKING.

Agri-businessman Allan Bird once challenged young people to just take some time to think in order to bridge the gap between the likes of Narakobi, Tawali and other great thinkers, and ourselves. Last week Ambassador Peter Donigi, at the Election 2012 panel, challenged young people to read and continuously learn. How can we be leaders (which simply put means being ahead of the pack) if we don’t read more and think more than those who we aspire to lead? It doesn’t work that way.

My challenge here now is simple..PATRIOTS, TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK AND READ....not just the blogs and these internet mindblasts from yours truly...but real wisdom-giving books that will BROADEN your view of life and give you an insight into the REAL problems of this NATION; as well as QUICKEN your creativity in ADDRESSING those problems.